Any issue with a multi use boil kettle?

[J_brew5]

I know this is kind of a strange question but is there any chance that a brew pot that is also used to cook food in can impart any strange off flavors to your beer? I have been using this pot for the last couple years but went three months without brewing. This pot is used daily in my commercial kitchen (catering company). I have only noticed a weird after taste with my last couple brews. Could this be from the pot? My sanitation practices have not changed. It is not an infected fermentation type taste, just different...

 

[flars]

I use my stainless steel kettle for cooking. Always clean it with Barkeepers Friend to clean afterwards.
Aluminum kettles, with the oxide layer removed, might impart some flavors.

Could be other causes also. Was there a change in the brewing water?

 

[andrewmaixner]

Properly cleaned stainless will not have anything left to pass on, that is why people like it. If you are cleaning it with something like PBW or barkeeps friend, then it is likely not the issue.

my wife uses my 15 gallon stainless boil kettle to boil the ammonia out of diapers before i clean it with pbw.... If that isn't a true test of residue, I don't know what is!

 

[ImNoExpert]

my wife uses my 15 gallon stainless boil kettle to boil the ammonia out of diapers before i clean it with pbw

Please explain this more. I must know more about this.

 

[andrewmaixner]

Ammonia compounds form over time and use in cloth diapers. Then they smell bad whenever they get wet, because the compounds become volatilized by moisture. Just like boiling away unwanted chemicals in brewing, these compounds evaporate when boiled.

 

[Spartan1979]

Are the diapers washed before she boils them?

 

[kh54s10]

I have used my 20 qt aluminum pot for steaming lobsters, cleaned, then a while later, brewing beer. I haven't had any issues.

 

[wardens355]

Are the diapers washed before she boils them?

I hope the answer is yes. If not, that house must smell like diaper stew when they are washed. My buddy borrowed my 2000 mL flask one time and when he returned it, I washed it really well inside, but didn't wash the exterior below the neck. Turned out it sat next to his toilet for a while and collected some urine residue. When I heated it up my whole kitchen smelt like a filthy hobo urinal.

Sorry for the sidetrack, stainless steel can be cleaned of pretty much anything. I would imagine aluminum could be too, just use the right cleaners. Thankfully, borosilicate glass can be cleaned of almost anything as well!

 

[1977Brewer]

My loaner kettle from my mother in law had two batches of chili cooked in it the day before.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I bought this stainless kettle used from a guy that used to do catering. I have no idea what he cooked in it for years prior to purchase. It was a little filthy, but some elbow grease and BKF has it looking rather respectable. It's stainless, as long as you know how to clean, I don't believe what you cook in it is an issue...I might draw the line at diapers

 

[andrewmaixner]

Are the diapers washed before she boils them?

Yes, haha. The boil is to remove long term buildup of micro crystals of ammonia compounds.